Conservation Notes

The painting is comprised of two boards with vertically oriented grain. A
dendrochronological examination by Peter Klein yielded dates of 1406-1453 and
1480-1513 for the boards.[1] The panel has been thinned down to a thickness of
0.2 cm and an auxiliary support added. The support consists of a plywood
composite board sandwiched between two thin sheets of wood. The panel was then
cradled. Either before or after the panel was thinned, an inset of oak, 16.4 x
17 cm, was added to the top right corner, replacing the original wood and
paint, which had been lost. The x-radiograph indicates extensive woodworm
damage throughout the panel, and this may be related to the loss of the corner,
although it is also possible that this area contained a landscape that was cut
out. The x-radiograph also suggests that a knot was removed and replaced with
an inset and a filler before the panel was painted, because the craquelure
pattern of the paint goes over the inset and also because the worm channels
continue into the inset. Examination with infrared reflectography disclosed
underdrawing in what appears to be a liquid medium, which is especially visible
in the knot of the Madonna's sash.

The painting is not in good condition. In order to disguise the extent of the
loss in the top right corner the background has been overpainted; moreover, the
original paint is badly abraded. Two splits are visible; one extends upward
from the bottom edge through the glass, while the second occurred along the join
line. There are numerous other losses, some of which are due to flaking, most
of which have been filled and inpainted.

[1] The wood was identified as beech by Peter Klein, examination report, 5 May
1987, in NGA curatorial files, and by the National Gallery's scientific research
department.